Mildewproofing of textile materials



Patented May 28, 1946 MILDEWPROOFING F TEXTILE'MATERIALS William P. as Horst, Pompton Plains, N. J., as-

signor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application October 4, 1944,

Serial No. 557,231

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the mildewproofing of textile materials'and leather,

particularly cellulosic textiles, such as fabrics containing cotton.

I have found that phenanthraquinone-9,1O effectively controls mildew on fabrics containing cotton. Phenanthraquinone-Q,l0 and a method of making it are described by Graebe in Liebigs Annalen der Chemie, vol. 167, page 140 (1873), The structure of the compound may be represented as follows:

The phenanthraquinone-9,10 may be applied 25% solution (by weight) of phenanthraquinona 9,10 in acetone, air dried, and then buried A inch deep in greenhouse soil which was heavily to the textile material or leather in solution in a suitable solvent, or in suspension in a non-solvent liquid medium, for example, water.

The following examples illustrate the inven--v tion:

1 Example I A piece of cotton fabric was immersed in a (by weight) solution of phenanthraquinone- 9,10 in acetone until thoroughly impregnated with the solution, after which the fabric was air dried. One-half of the fabric sample was then leached with running water for 16 hours and airdried.

Both pieces were then inoculated with C'haeto-- mium globosum spore suspension and incubated for thirty days. No mildew growth appeared on either piece of the fabric during this time. Pieces of cotton fabric which were untreated and pieces which were treated with acetone only and then inoculated with the same Chaetomium globosum spore Suspension showed heavy mildew growth after only four days incubation.

Example II A piece of cotton fabric was immersed in a .composing organisms.

infested with naturally occurring cellulose-de- A piece of fabric which was not treated and a piece which was treated with acetone only were buried in the greenhouse soil at the same time and under the same conditions. After a burial period of three weeks, the fabric samples were: removed. It was observed that there was no mildew on the piece which had been treated with the phenanthraquinone-9,10. On the other hand, it was observed that the untreated piece and the piece treated with acetone only were heavily overgrown .with mildew. Bursting strength tests were made on the various fabric samples. It was found that the cotton fabric treated with the phenanthraquinone-QJO' had retained of its original bursting strength, whereas the untreated piece, and the piece treated with acetone only, retained only 5% of their original bursting strength;

Having .thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of mildewproofing textile material which comprises treating said textile material with phenanthraquinone-9,10 in amount effective to control mildew.

2. The method of mildewproofing cllulosic textile which comprises treating said textile with which comprises treating said leather with phenanthraquinone-mo in amount eflectlve to control mildew.

WILLIAM P. nu HORST. 

